Notification issued 05-22-2018 at 12:00 PM. There will be a fireworks display over the Hudson River off Pier 90 in Manhattan tomorrow, 5/23, at approximately 10:15 PM.

Notification issued 05-23-2018 at 9:00 AM. On 05-24-2018, at 8:45 AM, six U.S. Navy Blue Angel F/A-18 jets will be conducting a flyover in the vicinity of Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens. The aircraft is expected to over the Hudson River, north to the Tappan Zee Bridge and then to LaGuardia Airport.

“The people who actually built this monument, who actually put the blood and sweat into it, agreed to it,” said Polish Consul General Maciej Golubiewski. “They think it’s the best solution, the best compromise.”

USIF's Nick Mastroianni paid the law firm $370,000 to lobby Congress, the White House on investor visa issues

By Will Parker | May 10, 2018 11:05AM

Nicholas Mastroianni, the founder of the U.S. Immigration Fund regional center for EB-5 investment, was brought to the Squire Patton Boggs law firm as lobbying client by Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime personal attorney.

Mastroianni confirmed he is one one of five clients that U.S. prosecutors for the Southern District of New York said were steered to Squire Patton Boggs by Cohen during a short-lived “strategic alliance” with the firm. Mastroianni told the Journal that he met with Cohen sometime last year at his Rockefeller Center office and was later put in touch with lobbyist Edward Newberry. Cohen is being investigated for potential fraud and other matters related to his $130,000 payment of hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniel, who alleges she had an affair with the president.

Cohen, who received $500,000 a year to bring clients to Squire Patton Boggs, has not been indicted on any charges by prosecutors. On Tuesday, it was revealed that Cohen’s firm Essential Consultants received a $500,000 payment last year to a fund linked to a Russian oligarch with ties to the Kremlin.

In a February 2017 interview with The Real Deal after Trump took office, Mastroianni said that his company had thus far received little indication on policy positions related to EB-5 from the White House. Squire Patton Boggs filed its first lobbying report for work it completed for U.S. Immigration Fund in June of that year.

The revelation that Mastroianni is a Squire Patton Boggs client is also notable given his connection to Kushner Companies and the investigations open against the real estate company for its use of the EB-5 program. U.S. Immigration Fund was working to bring Chinese investors to Kushner’s One Journal Square project in Jersey City, but Mastroianni called it off after a presentation by Jared Kushner’s sister in Beijing referenced the family’s ties to the White House. The presentation caused international controversy and ultimately led to a still-pending investigating by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn.

In January, TRD reported that Mastroianni’s firm and Kushner Companies had long abandoned their plans to raise EB-5 financing from China for 1 Journal Square. The company has raised EB-5 funds for HFZ Capital Group, Steve Witkoff, Durst Organization, Forest City Ratner and others.

MANHATTAN — The Port Authority is testing new security scanners at the World Trade Center PATH station Thursday and Friday in order to evaluate its latest potential resource to detect firearms, explosives and other weapons.

The so-called Evolv Edge, a "high-tech body scanning unit" meant to detect detect firearms, explosives and other weapons, will be tested Thursday and Friday at the WTC PATH site from 8 - 10 a.m. and 4 - 6 p.m.

Public participation in the testing is completely voluntary, according to Port Authority officials.

“The idea behind this pilot program is to evaluate another resource available to us in the effort to ensure the continuing protection and security of the traveling public,” Port Authority Chief Security Officer John Bilich said.

The "pilot security screening program" is "part of the Port Authority’s ongoing evaluation of new technology to ensure the highest level of safety for the traveling public across all agency facilities," officials said.

The Evolv Edge can screen up to 600 people per hour. About 250,000 commuters — 125,000 each way — pass through the World Trade Center PATH station every day, however.

The station would need about 200 scanners to screen every commuter.

Chris McLaughlin, with Evolv Edge, tells PIX11 that isn't practical, and although the way in which scanners are used is up to Port Authority officials, his advise is to use fewer scanners and move them around in order to randomly screen people.

The scanners, McLaughlin points out, can be set up within minutes.

Commuters can also pass through the scanners with coffee and hand, and keys, phones and other common objects in their pockets, McLaughlin said.

Whether or not commuters will need to show officials their purses and large bags will be up to Port Authority officials.

When asked if the extra security measure is worth the potential slowdown it may cause commuters, several locals told PIX11 it is.

"I mean, the commute sucks as it is now, with just the trains and the delays, but it’s a preventative thing. If something happens, everybody’s gonna go, why wasn’t more put in place?" Juvember Andrews, of Jersey City, said.

The scanners are already set-up at stadiums, performance centers and airports across the country, and have previously been tested at the Port Authority Police Department headquarters in Jersey City.

Girl who died of flu sent home from hospital with 104 degree fever, family says

Updated 8:23 AM; Posted Feb 15, 4:53 PM

By Caitlin MotaThe Jersey Journal

NORTH BERGEN – Stephanie Conteron had plans to take her daughter Nevaeh to see "Aladdin" on Broadway tonight.

But instead of enjoying the show with the beloved 6-year-old, Conteron and her grieving family are preparing for the girl's funeral this weekend.

Nevaeh Hernandez, a kindergarten student at Lincoln School, is the second child in New Jersey to die of the flu this season and her family says her tragic death likely could have been prevented, had she not been sent home from the hospital with a fever near 104 degrees.

The 6-year-old came home from school Friday afternoon and said she had a headache, family attorney Louis Zayas said during a press conference today. Nevaeh's mother, Stephanie Conteron, gave her daughter some medicine but soon noticed her temperature began to rise. She took her to Hoboken University Medical Center that night.

After more than three hours, Nevaeh was seen by a nurse and a physician's assistant and was told both strep throat and flu tests came back negative, Zayas said, adding that she was sent home despite having a high fever.

Conteron, an emergency medical technician, knew something was still wrong Saturday. Navaeh's temperature spiked to over 105 degrees and her family brought her to Hackensack University Hospital where she was diagnosed with the flu within an hour of arriving, Zayas said.

There, the girl had four seizures, slipped into a coma, and died Monday, the attorney said.

Navaeh's father, Gabriel, is in the Army and was stationed in Germany. He was rushed home, escorted to the hospital by police, but didn't make it back in time to see his daughter before she died.

"The purpose here is to alert the public how dangerous this flu strain is, that even if your child has been given the flu shot, that this flu shot may not be sufficient to warn off this particular strain," Zayas said.

Navaeh was given the flu shot in December, her family said.

Sandra Rivera, the 6-year-old's maternal grandmother, is now reminding parents they have a right to ask for a doctor to see their child and to stay at a hospital until they feel they have received the best care.

"Only a parent knows how your child is feeling," Rivera said. "Stay there, request whatever you need. Ask for a doctor, (say) 'I don't feel right, I'm not going anywhere,' because we feel (Navaeh's) death could have been prevented"

CarePoint Health, which operates the Hoboken hospital, said in a statement it will be cooperating with the state's mandatory review of health records and lab testing, which is required for pediatric flu deaths.

"We join the entire Hudson County community in mourning the tragic death of Nevaeh Hernandez," spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said. "Our heartfelt condolences go out to her family and friends. While privacy laws strictly prohibit our commenting on individual patient conditions, testing, or treatments, Hoboken University Medical Center meticulously follows all CDC guidelines and protocol related to the flu or possible flu cases."

But as Nevaeh's family searches for answers, her mother says she's really missing the sassy, intelligent little girl who had every Disney princess dress and loved going to her ballet class.

"She would knock on the door while I was in the bathroom, telling me that she loves me, and then coming back five minutes later to tell me she loves me and ask if I'm okay in there," Conteron said.

A wake is scheduled for Friday from 2 to 8 p.m. at Vainieri Funeral Home on Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen. Those attending are asked to wear pink, Nevaeh's favorite color. A funeral service will be held Saturday at St. Augustine Church in Union City at 10 a.m.

IMPORTANT: While the Republican tax plan is terrible for working families, we are going to try to minimize damage. We will now allow residents to pre-pay 2018 property taxes so that they can capitalize on existing laws. You can do so at City Hall between now & the end of 2017 .

If you are starting the Elevation Certificate procedure from scratch, check with your municipal government for any elevation information or certificate on file for your property. If none is available, you may have to contract a state-licensed surveyor, architect or engineer to do an Elevation Certificate. "

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- Eyewitness News is taking you inside a new planetarium that's truly out of this world.

It turns out the sky is not the limit as the Liberty Science Center is set to unveil an out of this world planetarium in Jersey City this weekend.

"It is huge, it's the largest and most advanced tech planetarium in the western hemisphere, you have to go to Japan or Beijing for a larger one," said Paul Hoffman, Liberty Science Center.

Size matters with a planetarium because it simulates what happens in the night sky, so the illusion of a horizon enhances the experience.

It's done on a scale that's never been seen on this side of the planet!

"It's 60 from the bottom to top, it's 88 million pixels like HDTV quality," Hoffman said. "Its diameter of the screen is 89 feet, the entire building with the Hayden building can fit inside this theater."

To grasp the height of the screen, stack four giraffes on top of each other, the size is 13,000 square feet which is a quarter of an acre.

"We can open a screen size of a movie theater with an astronomer sharing her discovery, another window show the images, and another screen with the astronomer reacting," Hoffman said.

From space to movies, 10 projectors run by a super computer put out a state of the art experience.

The system can display 280 trillion different color possibilities.

The $5 million planetarium was funded by philanthropist Jennifer Chalsty to fall in line with the center's mission to inspire a new generation of scientists. At least 250,000 school children will see the planetarium annually.

"Breaking news and on Saturday we are doing that for the first time. You will fly through the Orion nebula," Hoffman said.

It's the first of many chances to travel to worlds beyond!

"Up close and personal with moons, stars, planets and latest discoveries of astronomy," Hoffman said.

Updated on October 28, 2017 at 7:07 PM Posted on October 28, 2017 at 6:55 PM

By Caitlin MotaThe Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY - A child about 8 years old was fatally struck by a vehicle at one of Downtown's busiest intersections on Saturday evening, sources with knowledge of the investigation said.

City officials confirmed a child was struck near Grove Street and Christopher Columbus Drive at about 4:30 p.m. The child was rushed to Jersey City Medical Center in serious condition.

Sources told The Jersey Journal the child died at the hospital a short time later.

It's unclear if the child was a boy or a girl, but witnesses say a group of mostly girls were walking together at the time of the crash.

Paul Ferreira was working at a nearby store when he heard commotion. Ferreira walked out by Columbus Drive and saw a child who he believed was a girl lying in the middle of the intersection.

A grandfather of a 7-year-old girl, Ferreira said he was shaken up by the crash.

"I saw (the child)," he said. "It's sad."

The driver drove about 100 feet up the roadway before stopping. Ferreira said the driver didn't realize he had hit a child.

Officials are not classifying the crash as a hit-and-run and said the driver is cooperating with the investigation. About an hour after the crash, the driver could be seen still sitting in his car.

Another witness, who only identified himself as Moe, said the children were all wearing the same color.

"The child was just laying there, kind of lifeless," he said.

Additional information was not immediately available.

This crash marks ninth person to be killed in crashed in Hudson County since Sept. 1. Ten days ago to Dickinson High School students were fatally struck in a hit-and-run in the Heights.

Pedestrians have complained for years about the intersection of Grove Street and Columbus Drive. City officials in recent years have re-timed when pedestrians are permitted to cross Columbus Drive to make the intersection safer.

SAN FRANCISCO — No more getting packages stolen. No more worries about being there to receive them. Starting next month, people in 37 U.S. cities can have Amazon drop their package inside their front door, without ever giving anyone a key.

On Nov. 8, Amazon will begin offering a secure-lock service, called Amazon Key, that will give Amazon Logistics delivery personnel permission to unlock a customer's door for 5 minutes. Using a new Amazon device, the Cloud Cam, the entire delivery will be live-streamed to the customer's devices and also sent as a video snippet.

The service is an effort to thwart one of the problems of Amazon's popular package delivery service — package theft — as well as give users "choice, peace of mind and convenience," in the words of Peter Larsen, Amazon's vice president for delivery technology.

The company has been testing Amazon Key for several months at various sites around the country and thinks it's going to be a game-changer.

"This is not a trial. This is the fundamental way we think customers are going to order and receive their goods," Larsen said.

The new service could represent a shift in how consumers think of Amazon. Not just as the source of packages left on their porch, but as an entity they're comfortable letting into their homes. Available only to Prime customers, it's also another way to knit them more tightly into the ever-growing Amazon ecosystem.

How it works

The company demonstrated the service to reporters at a rental house in San Francisco on Tuesday.

The customer first buys a smart lock and the Cloud Cam camera. The starting price is $249 for the camera and smart lock. The Cloud Cam is also available for purchase as a stand-alone security camera for $119.99. Both will be available for purchase beginning Wednesday and can be installed by the customer or for free by a professional Amazon technician.

The camera is set up to show the front door from inside the house, allowing the customer to watch on the Amazon Key app to see whoever opens it. The smart locks, from Yale and Kwikset, come in several colors, variations and price points.

Once signed up for the free program, when customers go to purchase something on Amazon, they will see all items available for Key delivery marked with the designation "In-home delivery."

The day the ordered item is set to arrive, a customer gets a note on her phone, saying an in-home delivery will come that day and a time window during which to expect it.

When the delivery person arrives, the app sends the customer another note saying the delivery person is at the door.

Using a list that appears on the app, the delivery person is first instructed to knock on the door or ring the doorbell.

If no one answers, the delivery person swipes a button in the app that sends a message up to the cloud, which sends a message down to the customer's Amazon-enabled smart lock. This allows the delivery person to swipe a button on the app that unlocks the door.

"Note that the delivery person never touches the lock and doesn't have a key or a code," said Larsen.

The delivery person opens the door "just a crack," puts the package inside the door and then closes the door, he said. The worker then swipes another button on the app that automatically locks the smart lock. He must confirm that the door is closed and locked before leaving.

The code the system sends to the lock is for one time only, and is only valid for five minutes after the delivery person first arrives at the door. Via the app and the lock, the system even knows how close he is to the door and may prompt him to step closer to the door before sending the signal to unlock the door.

After five minutes the door automatically locks itself even if the delivery person hasn't locked it. If there is any problem with the lock or the service, the app instructs him to stay at the doorway and call Amazon customer service to ensure that the door is closed and locked before leaving, said Larsen.

The customer can watch the entire delivery in real time on a phone, via the Cloud Cam that is aimed at the door. He or she is also sent a time-stamped video delivery snippet on the phone to watch it later, as well as a message when the package is delivered and the door re-locked.

The video can also be watched live or later on an Amazon Echo Show, Echo Spot or Fire TV.

Amazon Key deliveries will only come through Amazon Logistics, not via UPS, FedEx or the U.S. Postal System, all of which also deliver Amazon packages.

The Amazon Logistics drivers who will have access to the Amazon Key Service all work for local delivery services that have contracted with Amazon and have been "thoroughly vetted and background-checked," said Larsen. They will not come from Amazon Flex, which allows individuals to sign up to deliver packages in their free time.

Until the moment the door is unlocked, the customer always has the option of hitting a "Block Access" button on the app that immediately changes it to traditional delivery, with the driver ringing the bell and then leaving the package outside the door.

The system can also be set up to grant a one-time access code to friends or family, or give them ongoing access should the user choose to. Customers will also be able to set up access for workers from its Amazon Home Services program, as well as Rover.com, a dog-walking service, and Merry Maids, a house cleaning service.

Jason Vega, a former low-income worker, is living proof of a new America Dream thrusting hundreds of once-struggling tech-savvy New York residents into the ranks of the middle class.

And it doesn’t demand four years of expensive college and a lifetime of crippling student debt.

Actually, it’s free to qualified students.

Vega is a graduate of NPower, a nationwide nonprofit offering a free 22-week IT training program, from tech networking to Web design, and with some 530 students currently enrolled at classes in Brooklyn, Harlem and Jersey City.

Now Vega, 27, of South Brooklyn, is a skilled cyber-security operations engineer, who works for Morgan Stanley in downtown Manhattan, earning great benefits and a salary that will help finance his plans for a spanking new condo. He recently bought his first car.

It’s a long way from his former life.

The high cost of college was too much for Vega to bare, and his ailing grandmother and family needed him at home.

“It’s amazing, how my quality of life has skyrocketed, and my income has more than quintupled since then,” Vega told The Post, noting how this more than five-fold growth from his last salary as a service rep, still makes him smile.

Vega, who’s single, went from $14 an hour as a customer service rep to a well-paid member of a crack-troop IT team on Wall Street.

Vega is not the only one. He’s one of a growing number of young professionals (and even military vets) landing well-paid tech careers, thanks to unconventional programs, many serving poor neighborhoods like Vega’s. And many are sponsored by Wall Street and big-business tycoons, who keep close contact with professionals like Vega in these programs, and open their doors to them after graduation.

NPower was officially launched in the early part of the century. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Dell Technologies are among the prominent underwriters and partners.

The real push to recruit and train IT workers, however, has come through corporate funding in the past 12 months as US companies scramble to fill open jobs, according to an NPower spokesman.

New programs recently started in Harlem and Jersey City to complement existing programs out of the Metrotech Center in Brooklyn. They have an acceptance rate of 50 percent, with an age limit of 25 (but no age limit for military veterans).

The only educational requirements to apply are a high-school diploma or GED — and, of course, an aptitude for technology. More than 80 percent of graduates find work after graduation or move on to higher education.

The program is free, including mentoring by experienced IT pros from the industry.

The program targets lower-income inner city kids as a great demographic to fill vacant IT jobs, and at the same time the program provides a boost to inner city economies.

It’s well known that more than half of all US jobs call for some tech and digital skills. But there will be only a pool of 3.3 million domestic workers to fill the 6 million jobs that require some level of technology and digital abilities in the coming years, according to the US Department of Labor.

“It can be really frustrating to try to find a large enough pool of qualified technology talent in the US,” said recruiter Hetal Parikh, president of Rangam Consultants in Somerset, NJ. “The challenge we have is to match the right talent, with the right skills, with the employer.”

NPower aims to have graduated 15,000 students within the next five years.

“I would not be in the same position I am today financially, emotionally or mentally without the blessings I received from NPower,” said Vega, who sailed into the program partly because of his natural talent for technology.

When Vega officially started work at Morgan Stanley last November, after a paid internship, he was dizzy with excitement. He had successfully completed his intensive IT training at NPower, and had all his certifications.

His rags-to-riches story is a familiar one at the program. Single mother Ateika Samuel worked as a waitress before she enrolled in NPower. Today, she’s an IT professional at Bank of America, making $50,000 a year.

Vega has no regrets about dropping out of college. “I wouldn’t have done this in any other way,” he said. “Sadly, college grads are a dime a dozen, trying without success to get in the front door at firms on Wall Street.”

Until their father’s personal lawyer intervened, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. were under criminal investigation by Manhattan prosecutors for possibly defrauding buyers of units in the Trump SoHo development, according to an investigation by ProPublica, WNYC and The New Yorker. An email showed the siblings “discussed how to coordinate false information they had given to prospective buyers,” according to the report.

The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., acknowledged that he dropped the case after a visit from President Trump’s lawyer Marc Kasowitz, who has contributed to Mr. Vance’s political campaign, but said he did so because it was the right thing to do.

Perhaps it was, and perhaps the president’s son and daughter did nothing criminal. But the deceptive behavior at the heart of the case would be familiar to anyone who’s observed Mr. Trump’s business career. The hustler is in the White House now, and the young members of the Trump family, with the cloud of suspicion that now constantly surrounds them, are top advisers.

It’s recently come to light that Ms. Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, both top administration officials, have been using at least three different personal email accounts for some government business, in potential violation of federal records acts.

Mr. Kushner didn’t reveal his use of private email in a lengthy interview with Senate investigators who are looking into the possibility of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government in undermining the 2016 election. USA Today revealed on Wednesday that shortly after Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating those possible ties, asked for related White House records, the couple rerouted personal email accounts to Trump Organization servers.

The White House levied small fines on both Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump in late August for filing late updates to their financial disclosures, McClatchy reported this week. Such fines are rare, but this was a second fine for late filing by Mr. Kushner.

Mr. Kushner has repeatedly botched legally required disclosures of his business assets, and omitted Russian contacts on his security clearance form, asserting that despite the assistance of a cadre of experienced lawyers, he just can’t seem to get the paperwork right. Some national security experts have said that if he weren’t the president’s son-in-law, Mr. Kushner would have been denied clearance under such circumstances.

Since Ms. Trump entered the White House, her apparel brand has benefited or sought to benefit from trademark decisions in China, Japan, Kuwait, Qatar, Panama, Brazil and elsewhere.

Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner like to be seen as moderating influences in the chaos of the Trump White House. John Kelly, the president’s chief of staff, appears to recognize that Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump are a drag on a White House already plagued by problems. Let’s also hope that he can persuade the Trump family members to deal more forthrightly with the American public than they did with their investors.

Jersey City donations stuck in United States with no way to Puerto Rico

By Darla Miles

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- There is an outpouring of generosity from people in the tristate to their fellow Americans in Puerto Rico.

But sadly, folks are being turned away with their goods because there's no way to get the donations to the island.

Donated goods sit at the San Juan Airport because there are no trucks to deliver them to the people.

It is a tragedy what's happening there.

"We were all systems go for Friday to have our shipment go to Kennedy Airport via FEMA and they just canceled on us and we're on hold," said Daniel Rivera, Jersey City Council Member At Large.

On hold in Jersey City are two 53-foot trailers with more than 100,000 pounds of water and supplies.

"Completely unacceptable. I mean there are people in Puerto Rico that are in trouble, they are devastated, and they need these resources ASAP," Rivera said.

This is the tip of the iceberg for the handful of non-profit organizations and regular old New Jersey residents who have been laboring to try to fill every single need of Puerto Ricans who lost every single thing in Hurricane Maria.

"We've been here for the past four days, 18-hour days, 16-hour days, we have been religiously here," Rivera said.

Gathering donations isn't the problem, but getting them there is.

In Brooklyn Wednesday afternoon, activists practically begged the U.S. government move supplies just sitting at airports and port.

"What we've learned, as predicted, the situation is worsening. It's already bad enough that a week later," a volunteer said.

"You have a family-owned trucking company and you are volunteering your trucks to take it to Puerto Rico and they are still not getting it," Eyewitness News Reporter Darla Miles asked.

100 percent accurate," said Bryan Hermann, of Hermann Transportation.

Hermann, who is also a Jersey City firefighter, wants the U.S. to issue a cargo waiver to the Jones Act, so he can transport donations like he did after hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

"The federal government relaxed some of the DOT laws for relief aid going to the affected areas," Hermann said.

"I'm very optimistic that this is going to go out, and when it goes out we're just going to send it out, we're not going to stop," Rivera said.

They're not stopping. Even late into Wednesday night, the sorting will continue until they get the greenlight from FEMA or they are able to put these supplies on a cargo ship.

Looks like Janam Indian Tea, formally of 353 Grove St, made it to the Big Apple.

--------------------------------------------------------

High Tea on the Lower East Side

Neighborhood JointBy LISA M. COLLINS SEPT. 26, 2017

Above a burger place, brassy swing tunes filled a private room located behind a vault door and up an old staircase, left over from when the building was a bank.

Along the bar, in front of the booze, sat a line of orange ceramic teapots and jars of dark leaves.

“This is from the highest-altitude tea garden in north India,” said Amy Dubin, 44, as she grabbed one of the jars from the bar to show a group of men in golf shirts and button-downs. “These are handpicked leaves.” Tea is different every year and every season, she explained.

“It smells delicious! Look at the color!” said Alex Chan, a teacher from Queens “in his 40s” and a member of the New York Tea Society, which meets here on a semiregular basis.

By night, this parlor, Victorian in décor with gold wallpaper, purple velvet benches and a stately little library, is Garfunkel’s, a speakeasy-style cocktail lounge at 67 Clinton Street on the Lower East Side. By day, it is the home of Janam Tea, which is run by Ms. Dubin and offers a proper tea service with cucumber sandwiches, scones, clotted cream and unlimited tea.

It’s a favorite spot for the Tea Society, which until recently was called the Men’s Tea Social. The group changed its name to welcome all tea lovers.

“Gay men who are into tea, that’s kind of huge,” said the group’s founder, Roy Lamberty, 49, the executive chef of Fatty Fish, a restaurant on the Upper East Side.

Afternoon tea is dismissed as a ladies’ thing, Mr. Lamberty said. “I don’t feel we should stick to stereotypes.”

Nearby, a group of women in satin dresses sat against the windows, chatting in Russian at their bridal shower. They watched the bride-to-be, Alexsandra Lerner, 24, of Manhattan Beach, as she pulled a lace-trimmed short silk kimono from a box.

Reading a card, tears fell down her cheeks. “I should get married every year,” Ms. Lerner said.

Back at Mr. Lamberty’s table, Mr. Chan inquired about the provenance of the green tea.

“The state of West Bengal is basically shaped like Idaho. At the very top is Darjeeling,” Ms. Dubin said. “Due to some, let’s say, civil unrest, to get tea from this area is very difficult.”

The bridal shower selected the unlimited Champagne option, an add-on to the regular tea service, which costs $35 per person and includes the delivery of a tiered tray stocked with treats like smoked-salmon sandwiches, buttermilk cupcakes and blood-orange frozen yogurt.

“Besides the jam and scones, I made it all myself,” said Ms. Dubin, originally from Cleveland.

When it comes to clotted cream, she instructed, “Don’t dab; be decadent.”

Mr. Lamberty said he hopes for a tea revolution. He does not drink coffee or alcohol. “Tea gives you that clearheaded awareness, without the jitters,” he said.

Benjamin Wagstaff, 25, was seated nearby. He wore orange leather slip-on shoes and an open shirt. He lives down the street and visits often.

Touching a silver necklace, a gift from his British grandmother, Mr. Wagstaff, a tech entrepreneur, reminisced about afternoon tea with her. “It was definitely something to look forward to,” he said.

“I like the idea of stopping what you are doing and having conversation,” Mr. Wagstaff said. “There’s a brunch culture in New York. Why can’t there be an afternoon tea culture? It’s not easy to find somewhere comfortable that wouldn’t rush the process.”

It was 3:30 p.m. and Mr. Lamberty’s group, having arrived at 1, was preparing to leave.

“The greatest thing about tea is that I can drink a lot of it, and drive,” said Mr. Chan. “And not get arrested.”

PATH riders have a lot of great suggestions to share. The PATH Riders’ Council (PRC) is a standing advocacy group that meets with PATH management year-round to ensure PATH riders have a voice in system design and operations decision-making.

PATH is currently accepting applications to fill six PRC vacancies to supplement the existing Council membership.

Eligibility Requirements

Must use the PATH system regularlyMust reside/travel within the PATH service areaMust be 18 years of age or olderPort Authority of NY & NJ employees (PANYNJ), PATH employees, and PANYNJ and/or PATH contractors are not eligible to apply for PRC membership.

How will PRC members be selected?

PATH, along with the existing Rider's Council, will appoint candidates in the PATH service area representing a cross section of riders from different geographic locations and demographics. Due to the limited number of PRC seats, not every applicant can be accepted.

Why should I participate?

If selected, you will be provided opportunities to recommend ways to improve PATH service. Serving on the PRC is a volunteer (unpaid) role. However, you will have the chance to help make a difference in the way PATH serves the region.

Justin Pugh’s latest law enforcement work in Jersey City deserves its own reality show.

He could call it ‘JCPD Pugh.’ Or ‘Law & Order: Special Lineman’s Unit.’

“I’m like CSI,” Pugh, 27, the Giants’ starting left guard, joked with a smile on Wednesday. “I’m starting the community watch. In five days, I helped catch a guy who’s been stealing stuff for the past six months.”

It’s a true story. Pugh really did flex his muscles as an investigator the past few weeks.

Pugh, a Jersey City resident, started his sleuthing by posting several videos on Twitter of a man brazenly stealing packages from Pugh’s front door. Pugh said the man stole approximately $3,000 of merchandise, including one package with two of Pugh’s custom suits shipped from California and another package containing cast-iron pots.

“He stole my stuff twice,” Pugh said. “I have him on camera. He walked up, looks right at the camera, and steals it.”

Pugh’s hope was that he could crowdsource the man’s identity to help police catch him, and that’s exactly what happened: Pugh filed a report and gave a statement at the Jersey City North District police station last Friday. And by this Tuesday, with the help of information gathered by Pugh, a Jersey City officer had recognized the suspect while patrolling and arrested him on burglary charges.

“I’ve had Justin join me at youth football camps in Jersey City and now he is catching bad guys and pretty soon he will run for elected office,” Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop told the Daily News on Thursday. “All joking aside it is great to have him as a resident and so involved in the community.”

Pugh said when he posted the first video of the man brazenly snatching his stuff from the front stoop, “someone else on Twitter said ‘the same guy got me last week in Hoboken.’” All told, Pugh was able to identify four houses the man had burglarized, which led the Giants lineman and his next-door neighbor to begin walking the neighborhood at points, trying to find him.

Pugh joked that his girlfriend must have thought he was crazy, driving around Jersey City with his eyes peeled and his head on a swivel. But in the end Pugh enlisted the help of the JCPD and together they solved the crime.

Rockport mayor pro tem: Those who don't evacuate should mark Social Security number on their arm

The mayor pro tem in the coastal city of Rockport, Texas had a grim message for residents in his city ahead of Hurricane Harvey’s arrival:

Those who don’t evacuate the city should prepare for the worst by writing their name and social security number on their arm.

“Those that are going to stay -- it’s unfortunate -- but they should make some type of preparation to mark their arm with a Sharpie Pen,” said Rockport Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Rios. “Put their social security number on it, and their name.”

Jared Kushner's role in the West Wing is complicating his family company's attempts to get real estate deals done.

Scrutiny from government watchdogs and lawmakers has ensnarled at least two of the company's key projects, according to people with knowledge of the developments.

White House adviser Jared Kushner stepped down as CEO of the company in January and recused himself from certain policy issues. But those measures haven't fully shielded his family's namesake business from allegations of conflicts of interest and criticism from political foes.

In Jersey City, New Jersey, Kushner Companies had sought to use local tax breaks, a high-profile tenant and a controversial government program called EB-5 to develop a luxury project.

Kushner Companies and its partner are for now ditching efforts to partially finance the project, One Journal Square, with EB-5 money, said Kenneth Pasternak, chairman of KABR Group. Pasternak's firm is partnering with Kushner Companies on the development.

The EB-5 program offers foreigners a path to a green card if they invest at least $500,000 in a U.S. project that creates jobs.

Reversing course on the use of EB-5 funding has led the real estate developers to seek capital elsewhere.

"We're currently doing an evaluation for alternatives," Pasternak said.

The shift comes after Jared Kushner's sister Nicole Meyer faced blowback for referencing her brother's White House position during a presentation in May to potential EB-5 investors in China.

In addition, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who had touted a "terrific friendship" with Jared Kushner in 2014, announced on Facebook that he would not support a tax break for One Journal Square. His post included a link to an article that mentioned criticism of Meyer's EB-5 presentation in China.

Following Fulop's statement, One Journal Square withdrew an application for the tax break, according to a letter sent to the city in May. A city official told CNN the request included two things: a 30-year tax abatement and $30 million in city-issued bonds.

Fulop is a Democrat, and his political rival says the mayor didn't support the tax break because of the political risk he faced for aligning himself with the Kushners in the past.

"This pivot away was clearly based upon Fulop's identification of a shift in the political winds and recognition that Trump and Kushner are toxic in Jersey City," said Bill Matsikoudis, a Democrat, who is running against Fulop in the city's mayoral race.

Fulop did not respond to CNN's request for comment.

Problems with a potential tenant, co working space company WeWork, also began surfacing in May.

WeWork was considering renting space in the building and committed to investing in the project as a development partner.

But WeWork decided against renting space and is now seeking to unwind its development stake, according to a person familiar with the situation.

One observer said she wasn't surprised.

"Like it or not Kushner Companies have become politicized, and in some ways that may benefit them and in others it might not," said Brigid Callahan Harrison, professor of political science and law at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

The crown jewel of Kusher Companies' portfolio -- the skyscraper at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan -- faces a similar predicament.

In 2007, Kushner Companies solidified the family's status as a serious contender in New York real estate with a $1.8 billion deal for the building -- a record purchase price at the time.

Kushner Companies overpaid for the asset with the assumption rents would increase in the building, according to analysts. But the financial crisis struck shortly after the purchase, and Manhattan rents took a nosedive.

The property hasn't generated enough revenue to cover its debt payments, according to 2016 data from analytics company Trepp, which tracks real estate debt.

Kushner Companies has been seeking a partner who can afford an expensive redevelopment plan that would transform the building's tower from prime office space to luxury condominiums and hotel space. The projected cost of that plan is $7.5 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

China's Anbang Insurance Group was weighing an investment in the project, but talks between the two companies collapsed in March. The same month, five Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to a White House lawyer describing the potential deal as a "highly troubling transaction" that could present a conflict of interest for Jared Kushner.

Analysts say 666 Fifth Avenue could produce enough cash to cover its debt payments if it fills empty space in the building. The office portion of the building is 70% occupied, according to Trepp.

"Under current market conditions a massive redevelopment plan for 666 Fifth Avenue seems unlikely, but there is still time to lease the office space and return value to the property before the loan comes due," said Thomas Fink, a senior vice president at Trepp.

Kushner Companies sold part of the building to Vornado Realty Trust in 2011. Today, the office tower shoulders more than $1.4 billion in debt, according to a report by Vornado released in March.

Kushner Companies is still seeking deep pocketed investors for 666 Fifth Avenue. Interest on a large portion of the debt, $1.1 billion, will jump from about 5.5% to 6.35% by next year, according to Trepp. The full balance on the loan comes due in 2019.

In response to CNN's questions about the property, a Kushner Companies spokesperson said, "We're pleased with the progress of exploratory discussions for a range of options for the future of 666 Fifth Avenue."

As with the One Journal Square project, reputational concerns arising from Jared's role in the Trump administration may be undermining the family's ambitious plans for the tower.

Jed Reagan, an analyst with real estate research firm Green Street Advisors, said the building's political associations could "thin the field" of potential investors.

"There are likely a number of domestic and overseas investors [who] just wouldn't want the publicity surrounding this, to see their names in headlines for months," Reagan said.

In fact, some prospective partners in the property could use the political scrutiny associated with the Kushner family as leverage to extract better terms in negotiations due to a perceived "headline risk," according to three people familiar with the building's finances.

Astronomers Without Borders will be announcing a program to collect eclipse glasses for distribution to other countries for future eclipses. Hold on to your glasses! Ask the company or organization you got them from if they will be taking part. We will announce details soon after the eclipse. We have corporate partners who will be receiving and processing them for us. Please DO NOT send them to AWB! Sign up for our newsletter for more details or follow us on Facebook.

The solar eclipse: Where you can safely watch it and get free viewing glasses

Wednesday, August 16, 2017 04:11PM

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- "It's the first one in a hundred years that's gone from West Coast to East Coast," said Patrick McQuillan who works at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. "It will be the most viewed solar eclipse ever."

McQuillan sounds a little star struck when he talks about the upcoming solar eclipse. That's because he's helping to plan a big viewing event at the science center.

From Jersey City, about 71 percent of the sun will be covered up by the moon. In other parts of the United States, the eclipse will be total. Everything will go dark and people will be able to see the sun's corona.

But, no matter where you are, you need to protect your eyes. Never rely on your naked eye or even sunglasses to look at the sun.

"Sunglasses are not safe ever," McQuillan said. "If you put 70 glasses on top of each other it's still not safe, you'll damage your eyes. You don't want to see this once and then never see anything again."

But, you can wear a pair of eclipse shades to view the solar eclipse safely. The Liberty Science Center is giving them out for free. You won't be able to see anything out of them other than the sun.

Of course a large telescope with a protective lens could also do the trick. You won't need one as large as the one at Columbia University.

Professor Joe Patterson will be setting up a few telescopes on the Columbia library steps. The eclipse will be on display from about 1:23 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on August 21st.

"It's like going to a world series game," McQuillan said. "It's different than any old baseball game."

The solar eclipse is sure to be an event that's a home run in the world of astronomy.